Actors Union Pushes for Tax On AI Film Characters to Curb Use

As adoption of artificial intelligence in the US outpaces efforts to regulate it, organized labor is providing an important check on how the technology gets used, according to the head of the Hollywood actors’ union.

“Collective bargaining has been the fastest and most effective way for the regulation of AI technology,” SAG-AFTRA Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said Thursday at an AFL-CIO workers’ summit in Washington.

AI usage is a key issue in SAG-AFTRA’s ongoing negotiations of a new contract with Hollywood studios. The existing agreement expires in June. Crabtree-Ireland said the union is focused on limiting the use of AI ...